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Retardation in the Elementary 
Schools of Philadelphia 



By 

Byron A. Phillips 



A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE 

SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA IN 

PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS 

FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR 

OF PHILOSOPHY 



Reprinted from The Psychological Clinic, Vol. VI, Nos. 3 and 4, 
May and June, 1912. 



£V 



RETARDATION IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS OF 

PHILADELPHIA. 

By Byron A. Phillips, Ph.D., 

Philadelphia. 

I. 

In the following study all pupils will be classed as retarded, 
who are one year or more behind the "normal" grade for their age. 
The universality of retardation is what first strikes the student of 
the problem. Whenever there is a school system, this phenomenon 
is present. Upon further consideration, however, we must recog- 
nize that retardation is dependent to a great extent upon the 
natural inequalities of the human mind, which may be of any 
grade from the lowest to the highest intelligence. At one end of 
the series we have the profound idiot, at the othei%the genius. 
Somewhere between these extremes we find the average or "normal" 
mind. The curricula of the public school systems are supposed to 
be adapted to this average, normal, or standard. Of course this 
average mind will not be one determined by a strict criterion, but 
will range within certain limits. Minds below the lower limit will 
not fit into a school system based upon this average, and a certain 
amount of retardation will always exist. Investigation, however, 
reveals the fact that many pupils of average intelligence are 
retarded to such an extent that the school systems have been called 
in question as inefficient. 

Besides natural inferiority of mind, there are several other 
factors which cause retardation, the most important of these being 
irregular attendance and lack of proper medical inspection. These 
factors are present in all school systems to a greater or less extent, 
yet there are great differences in the amount of retardation among 
the different systems. 

In studying the retardation of any system, the relation of the 
retarded to the normal and to the accelerated should be taken into 
account if we are to obtain an adequate idea of the relative worth 
of the system. 

The present study is an investigation of retardation in the 
elementary public schools of Philadelphia, and a word as to the 
organization of the system will make clearer the significance of 
the results. At the head is a Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion, who is assisted in his duties by four Associate Superin- 
tendents. The city is divided into ten districts, each under a Dis- 

(1) 



2 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC. 

trict Superintendent. Each district includes within its jurisdic- 
tion several contiguous political wards. In all there are 232 schools 
having an average enrolment of 81,768 boys and 82,127 girls, a 
total of 163,895 pupils. Age tabulations are taken on the number 
of pupils in actual attendance on one day of the year, and the 
regulation retardation blank is used for this purpose. A child 
eight years or over in the first grade is considered retarded; nine 
years or over in the second grade, and so on through the grades. 
In the present study the age tabulations for 1909 are used as a 
basis, and occasional reference is made to those of 1908 and 1910 
for comparison. 

Retardation for the Years 1908, 1909 and 1910. 

From Dr. Oliver P. Cornman's study of the "Ketardation of 
the Pupils of Five City School Systems," 1 we see that the different 
cities vary greatly in the percentage of retardation. In a more 
detailed study of any particular system it is desirable to ascertain 
whether the rate of retardation is uniform throughout the system 
or not. The ten districts readily lend themselves to such a study. 

In 1908 the highest amount of retardation for boys was 50.6 
per cent in District 3, and the lowest 37.9 per cent in District 10, 
a difference of 12.7 per cent; for girls 46.5 per cent in District 4, 
and 32.8 per cent in District 10, a difference of 13.7 per cent; 
and for both 48.3 per cent in District 3, and 35.4 per cent in 
District 10, a difference of 12.9 per cent. 

In 1909 we find the following range of difference in the 
amount of retardation in the districts: boys, from 48.1 per cent 
in District 3, to 35.9 per cent in District 10, a difference of 12.2 
per cent; girls, from 45.8 per cent in District 3, to 30.6 per cent 
in District 10, a difference of 15.2 per cent; both, from 47.0 per 
cent in District 3, to 33.3 per cent in District 10, a difference 
of 13.7 per cent. 

In 1910 the greatest amount of retardation for boys was 48.4 
per cent in District 3, and the least 34.6 per cent in District 7 
a difference of 13.8 per cent; for girls 45.7 per cent in District 3, 
and 30.7 per cent in District 10, a difference of 15 per cent; and 
for both 47.6 per cent in District 3 and 33.0 per cent in District 7, 
a difference of 14.6 per cent. 

The other eight districts range in retardation between the 
extremes just cited. It is apparent that different causes are work- 
ing in different degrees in these districts to cause the variations in 
the amount of retardation among them. The following table 

1 The Psychological Clinic, Vol. I, 1907-08, p. 245. 

%\\ 

AUG \m 



RETARDATION IN PHILADELPHIA. 3 

summarizes the retardation of the ten districts for the years 1908, 
1909, and 1910: 

TABLE I. RETARDATION BY DISTRICTS 



District 


1908 


1909 


1910 


Boys 


Girls 


Both 


Boys 


Girls 


Both 


Boys 


Girls 


Both 


1 


46.4( 
47.1 
50.4 
48.8 


43.0 
45.3 
46.0 
46.5 


44.7 
46.2 
48.3 
47.6 


41.9 
45.9 
48.1 
46.0 
46.1 
37.2 
36.8 
40.1 
37.5 
35.9 


41.7 
43.2 
45.8 
44.4 
43.3 
37.3 
34.2 
36.9 
34.5 
30.6 


41.8 
44.5 
47.0 
45.1 
44.7 
37.2 
35.5 
38.5 
36.0 
33.3 


41.0 

44.7 

48.4 

42.9 

42.6 

35.6 

34.6 

37.* 

36.1 

36.1 


39.0 

42.7 
45.7 
40.4 
41.7 
35.6 
31.5 
34.5 
32.7 
30.7 


40.1 
43.7 
47.6 
41.6 
42.1 
35.6 
33.0 
36.2 
34.4 
33.3 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


42.0 
40.3 
42.7 
38.3 
37.9 


39.5 
35.5 
37.0 
35.3 

32.8 


40.8 
38.0 
39.8 
37.0 
35.4 


7 


8 


9 


10 




Totals 


44.3 


40.4 


42.4 


41.5 


39.2 


40.3 


40.1 


37.6 


38.8 



Studying this table we note its remarkable regularity. Each 
year in each district the retardation of the boys is less than that 
of the previous year; each year in each district the retardation of 
the girls is less than that of the previous year; each year in each 
district the totals are less than the totals of the previous year. We 
can almost see retardation being forced down by some external 
cause. Since the problem of retardation is occupying the attention 
of most departments of superintendence, we may infer that this 
decrease is due to supervision. The following table summarizes 
the retardation statistics for the three years in question : 

TABLE II. 

Boys. Girls. Both. 

1908 44.3 40.4 42.4 

1909 41.5 39.2 40.3 

1910 40.1 37.6 38.8 

Not only the districts but the grades, with a few trifling 
exceptions, show the same uniform reduction in retardation. 



THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC. 

TABLE III. RETARDATION BY GRADES 



Grades 


1908 


1909 


1910 


Boys 


Girls 


Both 


Boys 


Girls 


Both 


Boys 


Girls 


Both 


8 


36.1 
39.3 
52.5 
56.6 
57.1 
54.0 
43.4 
21.9 


35.9 
37.0 
47.3 
52.0 
53.5 
47.3 
37.3 
20.2 


36.0 
38.1 
49.0 
54.3 
55.3 
50.6 
40.4 
21.1 


31.2 
35.5 
48.1 
54.8 
56.2 
50.5 
39.1 
20.1 


31.3 

35.9 
47.1 
54.1 
51.2 
45.5 
34.6 
18.5 


31.3 

35.7 
47.6 
54.5 
53.7 
48.0 
36.9 
19.2 


30.2 
36.5 
47.7 
54.8 
52.9 
48.4 
36.3 
19.1 


30.5 
36.6 
49.6 
51.3 
48.7 
42.7 
31.4 
17.1 


30.4 
36.6 
48.7 
53.0 
50.8 
45.5 
33.9 
18.1 


7 


6 


5 


4 

3 


2 


1 




Totals 


44.3 


40.4 


42.4 


41.5 


39.2 


40.3 


40.1 


37.6 


38.8 



No one familiar with the problem of retardation would look 
for equal amounts of retardation in the different grades. The 
grade figures for the whole city, arranged in order of the amount 
of retardation, are for 1909 : 

TABLE IV. 

5th grade 54.5 per cent 



4th 

3d 

6th 

2d 
7th 
8th 
1st 



53.7 
48.0 
47.6 
36.9 
35.7 
31.3 
19.1 



Total . 40.3 per cent 

The figures for 1910, although somewhat smaller, follow those of 
1909 in order of grades. 

Summary : 

(1) The ten districts vary considerably among themselves in 
amount of retardation. 

(2) There has been a uniform reduction in the amount of 
retardation during the past three years in the city as a whole, in 
each district, and with a few exceptions in each grade. 



RETARDATION IN PHILADELPHIA. 5 

(3) Supervision is probably an important factor in this 
reduction of retardation. 

Attendance. 

Some investigators have considered attendance to be the lead- 
ing factor in retardation. A comparison of retardation figures 
with the statistics of attendance given in the Superintendent's 
annual report, fails to reveal any correlation. For 1909 District 3 
has the greatest amount of retardation, 47. per cent, and an 
average attendance of 90.9 per cent; while District 10 has the 
lowest retardation, 33.3 per cent, and an average attendance of 
89.9 per cent. The ten districts show the following percentages of 
retardation and attendance respectively : 

table v. 
District. Retardation. Attendance. 

3 47.0 90.9 

4 45.1 I 89.2 

5 44.7 88.3 

2 44.5 89.8 

1 41.8 89.9 

8 38.5 88.8 

6 37.2 88.6 

9 36.0 89.3 

7 35.5 90.1 

10 33.3 89.9 

In order to obtain a measure of the general tendency of a 
relationship between two variable quantities with unknown zero 
points and units directly incommensurable, it is necessary to find 
the coefficient of correlation. The Pearson method obtains as its 
measure of the relationship a single number which may be any- 
where between 1.00 and — 1.00. The method of calculating the 
Pearson coefficient of correlation is to multiply the deviation of 
each observation from the average in one trait, by its deviation 
from the average in the other ; to add the products thus found and 
divide the sum by the number of cases times the standard deviation 
of the first trait times the standard deviation of the second trait 
That is, the coefficient of correlation 

r = 

n o"x 02 

The coefficient of correlation obtained by this method for the 
relationship between retardation and attendance for the year 1909 
is .05, which signifies practically a lack of correlation. A study 



6 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC. 

of the grade figures shows a similar lack of correlation between 
the percentages of retardation and of attendance. From this it 
would seem that attendance is a minor factor in causing retarda- 
tion, but this is evidently untrue, for two reasons. In the first 
place the percentage of retardation is being compared with the 
percentage of attendance for the same year. The attendance in 
any year cannot be a cause of retardation for the same year, 
although percentages of attendance vary but little from year to 
year. Secondly, the method of calculating attendance is apt to 
convey a false impression of the actual conditions in the various 
schools and districts. The attendance here, as in most school 
reports, is given in the form of a per cent of the average number 
belonging or the average number present for month and year. In 
such a calculation a difference of one or two per cent may mean a 
difference of hundreds of half-day attendances, and even tenths of 
a per cent may mean no small factor. No doubt the true way to 
estimate the exact influence of irregular attendance on retardation 
would be to keep a record of the number of half-day attendances 
for each pupil and compare the results with the promotion record 
of the same pupil. 

It is to be noted that District 3, with the highest percentage 
of retardation, is a compact foreign district ; while District 10, 
with the lowest percentage, is a rural American district, so it 
would seem that other factors, in this case the nature of the 
sociological unit, may overbalance the factor of attendance. 

The influence of attendance may be seen by comparing the 
attendance of the colored schools with that of the district in which 
they are located. The J. Miller School has an average attendance 
of 83.7 per cent, District 1 an average attendance of 88.3 per cent ; 
the Pollock School has an attendance of 83.5 per cent, District 3, 
90.4 per cent; the Catto School has an attendance of 80.7 per cent, 
and the Ramsay School, 76.3 per cent, District 4, 87.7 per cent; 
the Vaux School has an attendance of 76.0 per cent, District 6, 
87.6 per cent; the Hill School has an attendance of 80.2 per cent, 
the Meehan School, 80.0 per cent, District 9, 88.7 per cent; the 
Wilmot School has an attendance of 84.7 per cent, District 10, 
89.0 per cent. When retardation in the colored schools is dis- 
cussed it will be seen that in every case it is approximately from 
10 to 20 per cent higher than that for the district. 
Summary : 

(1) The method of reckoning attendance used in compiling 
school reports gives results which are of small value for statistical 
purposes. 



RETARDATION IN PHILADELPHIA. 7 

(2) While the tables do not show any correlation between 
retardation and attendance, no doubt such relationship exists, and 
is an important but not the predominating factor in causing 
retardation, being overbalanced in various districts by a single 
potent factor or several factors working together. 

Retardation in Relation to the Sociological Unit. 

The city of Philadelphia spreads over a considerable area. 
Originally many parts of the present city were towns in them- 
selves, which have been incorporated into the city in the course of 
its growth. Many of these sections still retain their old character- 
istics. The center of the city contains the great business section. 
South of this we find the foreign element, consisting mostly of 
Italians and Russian Jews. In the northeast there is a great 
factory district, in the northwest a wealthy residential district 
including Tioga and Germantown. West Philadelphia is char- 
acterized by the homes of the average American workingman. 

The ten districts, generally speaking, may be said to have the 
following characteristics : District 1, rather poor social class work- 
ing in factories in the 40th and 36th wards, with a better residen- 
tial section in the 46th and 27th wards ; District 2, Americans of 
the lower class, with a large foreign element; District 3, almost 
entirely foreign, with a considerable colored element; District 4, 
business section, old aristocratic section, large colored element, 
and west of the Schuylkill residential ; District 5, residential, with 
large colored element, business section; District 6, large foreign 
element, large colored element, poor laboring class, and in the 32d 
ward a better residential section; District 7, factory section; 
District 8, good residential section, also factories ; District 9, good 
residential section with one factory ward; District 10, rural out- 
lying district, factory districts with small settlements of foreigners. 
We can readily see that District 3, composed almost wholly of 
foreigners, and District 4, with a large negro element, have the 
greatest amount of retardation ; and that Districts 2, 5 and 1, with 
a considerable foreign element and poor home conditions, follow. 
District 6, although having a large foreign element, has a counter- 
balancing factor in a better residential section. District 8, besides 
a large residential section, has a considerable factory element to 
augment the retardation. District 7 has a low percentage of retar- 
dation, although of a rather low social order, but its low rate of 
retardation will be seen to be due in part to the high elimination 
rate and to the absence of the negro element. Districts 9 and 10 
with low retardation rates are partly rural and residential. 



8 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC. 

We can see that each district is too large to permit us to 
establish a relation between the social condition and retardation, 
except in a general way. Each district, however, is composed of a 
number of political wards, some of which are nearly homogeneous 
socially. In District 1 the retardation is 41.8 per cent, the wards 
with poor social conditions showing about 3 per cent more retarda- 
tion and the better residential wards about 3 per cent less. For 
District 2, with 44.5 per cent of retardation, the ward retardation 
is fairly uniform. In District 3, with a retardation of 47.0 per 
cent, the greatest variation is in the 30th ward, which has 42.9 
per cent. In District 4, with a retardation of 45.1 per cent, the 
7th ward has 62.2 per cent (colored), and the 9th ward 57.8 per 
cent. The latter is a business section with very poor and hetero- 
geneous elements in the smaller streets. In District 5 the retarda- 
tion is 44.7 per cent, and shows the 10th ward with 5 3.' 7 per cent 
of retardation. This is also a business section with many apart- 
ment houses, and with a poor social element in the side streets. 
District 6, with 37.2 per cent of retardation, shows 45.1 per cent 
in the 14th ward, which has a considerable negro element besides a 
large number of foreigners. The 32d ward, which is a very 
good residential section, has a retardation rate of only 33.6 per 
cent. District 7, with 35.5 per cent of retardation includes the 
factory wards, and there is not much difference in the percentage 
of retardation among them. District 8, with 38.5 per cent of re- 
tardation includes the 21st ward with 34.3 per cent, showing the 
effect of rural conditions. District 9, with 36.0 per cent of retard- 
ation, shows the 22d ward with 40.1 per cent. This ward includes 
two colored schools. The 43d ward has a retardation rate of 34.6 
per cent. This is a good residential section. District 10, with 
33.3 per cent of retardation, shows 29.9 per cent in the 25th ward 
and 37.3 per cent in the 45th ward. The former is a factory dis- 
trict, which has a rather low rate of retardation owing to the high 
elimination, while the latter contains a large percentage of foreign- 
ers, with a number of parochial schools, which always increase the 
rate of retardation. 

Many wards are differently constituted socially in their 
various parts, so that it would be profitable to investigate further 
the separate schools in each ward. The table on page 9 gives in 
more detail the social components of District 6. 

District 6 comprises five wards. In the 12th ward, which 
contains only two colored schools, the retardation is 34.8 per cent, 
although the schools contain 80 and 90 per cent of foreigners, but 



RETARDATION IN PHILADELPHIA. 



TABLE VI. 



Wards and 
Schools 






12th.... 

Mifflin.. 

Paxson . 

18th.... 
Warner. 



Wyoming . 

Uth 

Hancock. . 



Spring Garden* 

Vaux 

20th 

Lynd 



Penn .... 
Rutledge . 
Webster. 



Widener. 



Allison . . . 
Blaine 
Camac. . . 
Claghorn . 
Singerly. , 
Stokley.. 



34.8 



41.8 



45.1 



40.6 



33.6 



Divisions 



17 
21 



13 



17 

7 

3.5 

13 

12 
12 
10 



11 1 



821 
1088 

639 

927 

1256 

386 
205 

984 

619 
1323 

475 

937 

615 
1201 

838 
1235 

957 

556 



32.3 
36.6 

37.7 

44.1 

47.4 

28.0 
66.3 

44.3 

36.6 
38.1 
32.3 

44.2 

29.0 
35.7 
38.9 
33.5 
36.5 
21.5 



Social Components 



Foreign of low social con- 
dition, 90 %. 

Foreign of low social con- 
dition, 80%. 

Foreign of low social con- 
dition, 80%, with slight 
colored element. 

Foreign of low social con- 
dition, 80%. 

Residential of lower order, 
colored 14%, foreign 
30%. 

Foreign of low social con- 
dition, 75%. 

Colored school. 

Residential of lower 

order, 25% colored, 

70% foreign. 
Foreign of lower order, 

80%. _ 
Residential, 10% foreign, 

negroes. 
Residential of lower 

order, 40% foreign, 

negroes. 
Residential, 10% foreign 

12% colored. 

Residential of higher 
order, good conditions. 

Residential of higher 
order, 10% foreign. 

Residential of higher 
order. 

Residential of higher 
order, 10% foreign. 

Residential of higher 
order, 5% foreign. 

Residential of higher 
order, very good con- 
ditions. 



♦Spring Garden School has grades 1 and 2 only. 



10 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC. 

these schools contain grades 1 to 4 only. In the 13th ward the 
Warner School, with 80 per cent of foreigners, has 37.6 per cent 
of retardation. The Wyoming School has 44.1 per cent of retarda- 
tion, about the average percentage for schools having a large 
foreign element. The schools of the 20th ward have a rather low 
percentage of retardation, considering the social components of the 
schools. The Lynd School has 44.3 per cent of retardation, with 
70 per cent foreign and 25 per cent colored. The 32d ward shows 
a considerable decrease in retardation, the ward retardation being 
only 33.6 per cent, with no school varying much from the average 
except the Allison School, with only 29.0 per cent of retardation, 
and the Stokley School with 21.5 per cent. These schools are not 
fully graded, and draw their pupils from very good residential 
districts. 

We see that city, district, ward, and school are made up of 
distinct sociological units. In each of these units the home condi- 
tions are widely different. In those districts where retardation is 
greatest, the sociological unit proves to be the one in which home 
conditions are most unfavorable and even antagonistic to educa- 
tional influence. A course of study has been prescribed for the city 
as a whole, as if the various districts were homogeneous units, equal 
sociologically and intellectually. This course of study is to be fol- 
lowed as closely for the foreigners in District 3, as for the native 
Americans in District 10. Can we expect equal results when we 
apply the curriculum inflexibly to these widely divergent social 
units ? We must conclude that retardation is in a great measure 
the resultant of unfavorable home conditions, combined with an 
inflexible curriculum. 

Supervision may overcome to a certain extent adverse condi- 
tions, by taking these facts into consideration. The standards of 
requirement must be differently applied to the different sociological 
groups. In District 6, for example, we expect to find a large per- 
centage of retardation, for here are a large foreign element, a 
large colored element, and (with the exception of the 32d ward) 
poor social conditions; yet in this district with a comparatively 
poor element from which to draw, we find a comparatively low rate 
of retardation. Why is it that the retardation in schools with 60 to 
80 per cent of foreigners does not begin to be as great as that in 
schools in other districts where conditions are approximately the 
same? This district has been under the superintendence of one 



RETARDATION IN PHILADELPHIA. 



11 



who has been especially interested in the problem, and it would be 
fair to say that the course of study has been interpreted less rigidly 
and more in accord with the needs of the sociological unit. 

A closer study of the colored and foreign elements brings to 
light facts which substantiate the conclusions already drawn. 

The Colored Element. 

In most of the schools of Philadelphia, white and colored 
pupils are mixed in varying proportions, according to the district. 
There are nine schools for colored children exclusively. The 
following table shows a surprising contrast between these schools 
and the others: 

TABLE VII. RETARDATION IN" THE COLORED SCHOOLS 



School 


District 


Divisions 


Grades 


Number 


Retard- 
^ ation 


Attend- 
ance 


G 


P 


K 


T 


J. Miller 

Pollock 

Catto 

Ramsey 

Purvis 

Vaux 

HiU 

Meehan 

Wilmot 


1 

3 
4 
4 
4 
6 
9 
9 
10 





1 





1.5 

2 



1 


2 
10 
6 
9 
1 

3.5 
5 
3 
2 


1 
1 

1 
1 

1 
1 
1 



3 
11 
8 
10 
1 
6 
8 
4 
3 


1-4 
1-4 
1-5 
1-4 
1-4 
1-6 
1-8 
1-4 
1-8 


148 
413 
336 
434 
31 
205 
385 
175 
138 


68.2 
60.6 
67.3 
70.9 
46.4 
66.3 
72.0 
58.2 
59.3 


83.7 
83.5 
80.7 
76.3 
93.5 
76.0 
80.2 
80.0 
84.7 



In District 1 the J. Miller School has 68.2 per cent of re- 
tardation, against 41.8 for the district, the school having the next 
highest amount of retardation being the Boon's Dam, with 49.1 
per cent (8 per cent colored). In District 3 the Pollock School 
has 60.6 per cent of retardation, against 44.5 per cent for the 
district, the school having the next highest amount of retardation 
being the Florence, with 56.0 per cent (nearly 100 per cent for- 
eign). In District 4 the Catto School has 67.3 per cent of re- 
tardation, and the Ramsey TO. 9 per cent, against 45.1 per cent 
for the district. The Keystone School, 44 per cent colored, has 
the next highest amount of retardation, 57.8 per cent. In Dis- 
trict 6 the Vaux School has 66.3 per cent of retardation, against 
37.2 per cent for the district. The Hancock School (13 per cent; 



12 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC. 

colored), with 47.4 per cent retardation, has the next highest 
percentage. In District 9 the Hill School and the Meehan have 
72.8 per cent and 58.2 per cent of retardation respectively, against 
36 per cent for the district. The Gilbert School (6 per cent 
colored), with 51.6 per cent, stands next. The high percentage 
of retardation here, however, seems to be due to local causes, as 
the Harmer, which is next below, has only 45.0 per cent, and the 
percentages of retardation of the schools below this fall off nor- 
mally. In District 10 the Wilmot School has 59.3 per cent of re- 
tardation, against 33.3 per cent for the district, the next school 
being the Martin, with 51.1 per cent. This school has a large 
foreign element and also draws, a number of its pupils from three 
parochial schools in the neighborhood. The Marshall School fol- 
lows the Martin, with 46.5 per cent, after which comes the Lawn- 
dale, with 40.2 per cent, which is more typical of the district. 

In every case the colored schools are far above the others in 
the amount of retardation. Taking the schools with 20 per cent 
colored children or over, we can see an increase as a whole in 
retardation. With 8188 colored pupils showing so great an amount 
of retardation, it is obvious that the total retardation is affected. 
In comparing the grades this colored retardation is a considerable 
factor, as the colored pupil does not often get above the sixth grade 
before leaving school. One result of this is to swell the amount of 
retardation in the fourth and fifth grades. 

If we look over the retardation of the several districts we 
see that District 7 has practically no negro element and that in 
Districts 8 and 10 the negro element is only 2.1 per cent and 1.4 
per cent respectively. District 6, on the other hand, has a large 
percentage of colored pupils (7.1 per cent) and still has a com- 
paratively low rate of retardation. Districts 3 and 4 have the 
largest percentages of retardation and also the largest proportion 
of negroes. It is not contended that the negro element is the prin- 
cipal cause of the greater retardation in these districts, but that 
it is one of the factors. This sociological element influences the 
whole system and adds to the amount of retardation. It is a ques- 
tion whether the course of study is suited to the negroes, as the 
educational results are so far behind those in the other schools, 
and it is very doubtful whether even a liberal interpretation of the 
course of study would meet the educational necessities of this 
group. 



II. 

The Foreign Element. 

The foreign element raises the retardation above the average 
for the city, but not to as great an extent as the negro element. In 
studying this phase of the problem, such detailed statistics as ob- 
tained for the colored pupils were not available. We have secured, 
however, a list of the schools in Districts 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 10 
with over 25 per cent of foreign pupils. Districts 8 and 9 have 
no schools with over 25 per cent foreign. By foreign is here 
meant those whose home conditions are characterized by foreign 
customs and speech. 

Note must be taken not only of the rate of retardation of the 
school, but of the number of pupils and the grades in the schools, 
as the retardation in schools with grades 1 to 4 only, no matter 
what the conditions are, will be less than in fully graded schools. 
This is true to a less extent of schools which contain grades 1 to 
4 only. The table on page 14 shows the retardation of schools 
with over 25 per cent foreign pupils for six of the districts. 

From this table we see that the schools with 25 per cent or 
more of foreign pupils range in retardation from 40 per cent up- 
ward. In some schools the percentage of foreign pupils rises to 
100 per cent, but in no school does the retardation equal that of 
the colored children. In schools with only 25 per cent foreign, 
other causes may reduce retardation. 

It is curious to note the relatively small percentage of re- 
tardation in some of the schools of District 6 with 80 per cent 
and 90 per cent foreign, besides a considerable colored element : 

Mifflin School, 90 per cent foreign, with 32.3 per cent retarded 

Paxson " 80 " " " 36.6 

Warner " 80 " " " 37.6 

Penn " 80 " " " 36.6 

Webster " 40 " " " 32.3 

These schools contain grades 1 to' 4 only, but may be compared with 
schools of the same grades in Districts 2 and 3, where the retard- 
ation is 40 to 50 per cent. 

(13) 



14 



THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC. 



TABLE VIII. RETARDATION IN SCHOOLS WITH OVER 25 PER CENT FOREIGN PUPILS 



Schools 


Divisions 


Number 


Retard- 
ation 


Attend- 
ance 


G 


P 


K 


T 


District I. 

Point Breeze 

Boon's Dam 

District II. 


1 
3 

2 



10 

11 

14 





17 





10 





13 







14 







14 
3 





18 
10 
8 



6 

5 

8 


4 
8 

18 

15 

14 

7 

9 

12 

21 

7 

19 

19 
12 

7 
22 
25 
18 
21 
17 
12 
17 

8 
16 

10 
10 

28 

17 
21 
13 
5 
17 
13 
12 
10 

13 

18 
10 

7 


1 







1 




2 




1 

4 

1 

2 
3 

1 

1 
2 

1 
4 
3 

2 
4 
2 
1 

2 
2 
3 
1 

2 
2 
1 



6 
11 

20 
15 
24 
18 
24 
12 
21 
24 
21 

19 
22 

8 
26 
38 
19 
23 
20 
26 
18 

9 
18 

25 
17 
31 

19 
25 
15 
24 
29 
23 
15 
11 

21 
20 
16 
15 


250 
556 

931 
735 

1256 
841 

1133 
607 
967 

1120 
976 

984 
994 
352 

1138 

1759 
890 

1095 
964 

1273 
870 
457 
749 

1123 

618 

1426 

821 
1008 
639 
927 
1256 
984 
619 
475 

946 
846 
711 
693 


40.3 
49.1 

44.2 
46.4 
46.1 
40.9 
41.1 
44.5 
43.1 
47.5 
45.1 

51.3 
54.8 
55.2 
53.9 
38.2 
45.9 
44.7 
56.0 
48.6 
39.5 
33.5 
46.4 

42.5 

48.4 
45.5 

32.3 
36.6 
37.6 
44.1 
47.4 
44.3 
36.6 
32.3 

40.2 
32.8 
37.0 
51.1 


92.0 

88.6 

91.2 

89.5 
88.8 
93.0 
90.2 
89.0 
91.1 
88.1 
83.2 

91.9 
92.9 
84.6 
83.5 
92.1 
93.0 
89.4 
88.5 
92.9 
94.8 
92.6 
87.5 

91.8 
90.4 

88.5 

90.2 
82.4 
86.0 
89.9 
89.4 
88.8 
87.3 
87.1 

89.0 

89.5 
88.7 
92.7 




Close 






Calhoun 


Fov 




District III. 

Hay 




Washington 


Burk 


Fletcher 


Florence 


Mt. Vernon 

Meredith 


Ralston* 




District V. 

Binney 


Forten 


Wharton 


District VI. 

Mifflin 


Paxson 


Warner 


Hancock 


Lynd 


Penn 


Webster 


District X. 

McClellan 

Martin 





* Grades 1-2 only. 



RETARDATION IN PHILADELPHIA. 15 

Summary : 

(1) The home conditions of the sociological units are an im- 
portant factor in retardation. 

(2) The negro element is out of accord with the educational 
system, and is an important factor in retardation. 

(3) The same thing is true of the foreign element, to a less 
extent. 

(4) Supervision may reduce retardation by a more liberal 
interpretation of the course of study. 

Retardation in the Schools. 

"When comparing the retardation of different districts, it is 
desirable to know whether the retardation in each district is 
uniform throughout or whether the average is raised or lowered by 
certain schools. In the table on page 16 the schools in each dis- 
trict are arranged in groups according to their percentage of re- 
tardation, e. g., there are four schools in District l*with between 
35 and 40 per cent of retardation, four schools with between 40 
and 45 per cent, and so on. 

The first thing to note is the high percentage of retardation 
in the colored schools, the next is the comparatively low retarda- 
tion of schools with grades 1 and 2, or 1 to 4, only. The retarda- 
tion in Districts 2, 5, 7 and 8 is more uniform than in the other 
districts. 

The schools in Districts 2, 3, 4 and 5 are much larger than 
those of Districts 9 and 10. In the former districts there are 
fewer fully graded schools, while in the latter group, especially 
District 10, the fully graded schools predominate. This is due, 
of course, to rural conditions. In these schools there seem to be 
conditions favorable to greater understanding of the individual 
needs of the child, owing probably to the fact that many of the 
schools are small and have few pupils in each grade. In the 
larger schools of the congested districts the loekstep of the cur- 
riculum must be preserved, even where individual instruction is 
most needed. This has the effect of augmenting the amount of 
retardation. Deficiency in certain branches, notably arithmetic 
and spelling, often is the cause of a pupil's failure to advance. 
Individual attention is not to be had, and the pupil's entire edu- 
cation must be neglected while he is making futile efforts to reach 
a fixed standard in these branches. Promotions should be made 
according to individual need, not by a fixed rule for the average 
child. A course of study must be liberally interpreted in the 



16 



THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC. 



TABLE IX. SCHOOLS IN EACH DISTRICT CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO PERCENTAGE OF 

RETARDATION. 



District. 


65 

OS 
1 


6? 

1 
O 
CM 


65 

OS 
<N 
1 
lO 
CN 


65 

co 
1 
© 

CO 


65 

OS 

1 

m 

CO 


65 

i 
o 


68 

os 

T 


68 
■>* 

m 

l 
o 

lO 


65 
os 
m 

l 


65 

i 
o 

SO 


6? 

OS 
CD 
1 
lO 

o 


6? 
o 


Totals. 


1 




1-4 
1 


1-4 
1 




4 


4 


8 








C 

1 




19 


2 






1-2 
1 




2 


7 


8 


1 










19 


3 






1-2 
1 




4 


1 


5 


4 


2 


C 
1 






18 


4 






1-4 
1 


2 


5 


4 


6 


2 


2 




C 
1 


c 
2 


25 


5 


SP 

1 






1 


1 


6 


6 


3 


1 








19 


6 




1-2 

1-4 

2 


1-6 
1 


3 


8 


3 


1 








c 

1 




19 


7 






1-4 
4 


4 


10 


2 














20 


8 






3 


4 


6 


6 


4 












23 


9 


1-4 

2 


1 


6 


5 


12 


4 


1 


1 


c 
1 






c 
1 


34 


10 




4 


6 


12 


6 


2 


1 


1 


c 

1 








33 


Totals 


3 


8 


24 


31 


58 


39 


40 


12 


7 


c 

1 


c ! c 
3 3 


229 



1-2 =grades 1-2 only. 
1-6 =grades 1-6 only. 
S P = Practice school of School oi Pedagogy. 



1-4 =grades 1-4 only. 
c = colored schools. 



classroom. In every class are found the bright pupils, the average 
pupils, and the slow pupils. If the amount of detail required 
were varied to suit the ability of these three kinds of children, 
much retardation would be avoided. This is only another example 
of what may be accomplished by supervision. 



RETARDATION IN PHILADELPHIA. 



17 



Acceleration. 

In previous studies of retardation little attention has been 
given either to pupils of normal age for their grades, or to acceler- 
ated pupils. The following table summarizes the retardation, 
normal progress, and acceleration for the ten districts. 

TABLE X. PERCENTAGES OF RETARDED, NORMAL, AND ACCELERATED PUPILS BY 
DISTRICTS ARRANGED IN ORDER OF AMOUNT OF RETARDATION. 





BOYS 




GIHLS 




BOTH 




















o 






TJ 


O 






T3 


•2 






T3 


"on 








ro 


_ 




-2 


-*J 


T3 






5 






O 


5 




"3 
2 




Q 


C3 


"3 
S 


C3 
3 




























O 
























£ 


£ 


< 




P3 


£ 


<! 




£ 


£ 


< 


3 


48.1 


29.1 


22.8 


3 


45.8 


27.9 


26.3 


3 


47. | 
45. f 


28.5 


24.5 


5 


46.1 


28.4 


25.5 


4 


44.4 


29.4 


26.2 


4 


28.9 


26.0 


4 


46.0 


28.3 


25.7 


5 


43.3 


30.1 


26.6 


5 


44.7 


29.2 


26.1 


2 


45.9 


30.6 


23.5 


2 


43.2 


31.6 


25.2 


2 


44.5 


31.1 


24.4 


1 


41.9 


31.1 


27.0 


1 


41.7 


30.5 


27.8 


1 


41.8 


30.8 


27.4 


8 


40.1 


29.8 


30.1 


6 


37.3 


31.7 


31.0 


8 


38.5 


30.2 


31.3 


9 


37.5 


30.3 


32.2 


8 


36.9 


30.7 


32.4 


6 


37.2 


32.3 


30.5 


6 


37.2 


32.9 


29.9 


9 


34.5 


31.7 


33.8 


9 


36.0 


31.0 


33.0 


7 


36.8 


31.6 


31.6 


7 


34.2 


30.7 


35.1 


7 


35.5 


31.2 


33.3 


10 


35.9 


31.1 


33.0 


10 


30.6 


31.5 


37.9 


10 


33.3 


31.3 


35.4 


Totals 


41.7 


30.2 


28.1 




39.2 


30.6 


30.2 




40.3 


30.5 


29.2 



The percentage of pupils making normal progress ranges only 
between 28.5 per cent in District 3, and 32.3 per cent in District 
6, an average of 30.5 per cent. This is practically the same for 
boys as for girls, the former being 30.2 per cent, the latter 30.6 
per cent. Acceleration has a wider range, from 24.5 per cent in 
District 3 to 35.4 per cent in District 10. The girls are more 
accelerated than the boys, and are less retarded, but the percentage 
of girls making normal progress is about the same. Studying the 
separate schools in each district, it is found that the normal-prog- 
ress pupils range only between 28 and 33 per cent. This holds 
s:ood for the schools in Districts 3 and 4 where retardation is 
greatest, as well as for Districts 7 and 10 where it is least. The 
acceleration in the schools of the different districts varies consid- 
erably, and we may say that the acceleration varies approximately 
inversely as the retardation, while normal progress remains ap- 
proximately a constant. The following table summarizes the 
retardation, normal progress and acceleration for the city. 



18 



THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC. 



TABLE XI. 

Retardation Normal 

Boys 41.7 30.2 

Girls 39.2 30.6 

Both 40.3 30.5 



Acceleration 

28.1 
30.2 



29.2 



A study of the districts by grades shows that the normal 
remains approximately at 31 per cent for grades 8, 6, 3, 2 and 1, 
but falls off in grades 5 and 4, where the retardation is greatest, 
to 26.2 per cent and 25.9 per cent respectively. It rises in grade 
7 to 36.2 per cent. The acceleration bears a more direct relation 
to the retardation, the grade with a high retardation rate having 
a low acceleration rate and vice versa. The lowest acceleration is 
in grades 5 and 4, which have 19.1 per cent and 20.4 per cent 
respectively. The highest acceleration, 49.1 per cent, is in the 
first grade, due, of course, to early entrance. The eighth grade 
has the next highest percentage, 35.1 per cent. The following 
table gives the summary by grades for the city. 



TABLE XII. 



SUMMARY OP RETARDATION, NORMAL PROGRESS, AND ACCELERATION 
FOR THE CITY. 





BOYS 


GIRLS 


BOTH 








-a 






T3 






T3 


GRADES 


T3 




CD 


•3 




CD 


T3 




-2 




<o 






O 






CD 










03 

a 


a 


X) 
u 
03 


03 

a 


a 


03 


03 

a 


CD 




































CD 








« 


£ 


< 


tf 


£ 


< 


« 


z 


< 


8 


31.2 


33.0 


35.8 


31.3 


34.2 


34.5 


31.3 


33.6 


35.1 


7 


35.5 


36.1 


28.4 


35.9 


36.2 


27.9 


35.7 


36.2 


28.1 


6 


48.1 


30.1 


21.8 


47.1 


30.5 


22.4 


47.6 


30.3 


22.1 


5 


55.3 


25.5 


19.2 


54.1 


26.8 


19.1 


54.7 


26.2 


19.1 


4 


56.2 


25.1 


18.7 


51.2 


26.7 


22.1 


53.7 


25.9 


20.4 


3 


50.5 


29.5 


20.0 


45.5. 


30.8 


23.7 


48.0 


30.1 


21.9 


2 


39.1 


33.0 


27.9 


34.6 


32.7 


32.7 


36.9 


32.8 


30.3 


1 


20.1 


31.8 


48.1 


18.5 


31.3 


50.2 


19.3 


31.6 


49.1 


Totals 


41.7 


30.2 


28.1 


39.2 


30.6 


30.2 


40.3 


30.5 


29.2 



A further analysis of retardation and acceleration shows that 
the retardation extends through four years while the acceleration 
extends through only two years. 



RETARDATION IN PHILADELPHIA. 



19 



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20 



THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC. 



In all districts together there are approximately 20 per cent 
retarded one year, 10 per cent retarded two years, 5 per cent 
retarded three years, and 3 per cent in Districts 1 to 6 and 1.5 
per cent in Districts 7 to 10 retarded four years. The difference 
in acceleration is very marked. The acceleration for one year 
ranges from 22.0 per cent in District 2 to 32.2 per cent in District 
10, but for two years it ranges only from 2.1 per cent in Districts 
3 and 4 to 3.5 per cent in District 7. 

Retardation for one year is the same for both boys and 
girls, 21.0 per cent, but retardation for two, three and four years 
is higher for boys than for girls. The following table gives a 
summary for the city: 

TABLE XIV. 

Retarded Normal Accelerated 

1 yr. 2 yrs. 3 yrs. 4 yrs. 1 yr. 2 yrs. 

Boys 21.0 12.1 5.5 2.6 30.2 25.7 2.6 

Girls 21.0 11.0 4.8 2.2 30.6 27.5 2.6 

Both 21.0 11.6 5.1 2,4 30.5 26.6 2.6 

The most interesting fact in this study is brought out by a 
comparison of the normal and accelerated pupils for the years 
1908, 1909 and 1910. These tables have been compiled in the 
same manner as those for the retardation for the same years for 
boys, girls and both, for the ten districts. 

TABLE XV. NORMAL PROGRESS BY DISTRICTS FOR 1908, 1909 AND 1910. 





1908 


1909 


1910 
























BOYS 


GIRLS 


BOTH 


BOYS 


GIRLS 


BOTH 


BOYS 


GIRLS 


BOTH 


1 


29.5 


30.6 


30.1 


31.1 


30.5 


30.8 


31.4 


30.8 


31.1 


2 


29.1 


30.4 


29.8 


30.6 


31.6 


31.1 


30.9 


31.3 


31.2 


3 


26.6 


28.0 


27.3 


29.1 


27.9 


28.5 


27.6 


28.2 


27.9 


4 


27.1 


29.6 


28.3 


28.3 


29.4 


28.9 


29.7 


30.9 


30.3 


5 
6 








28.4 
32.9 


30.1 
31.7 


29.2 
32.3 


29.5 
30.6 


29.2 
31.0 


29.4 
30.8 


26.8 


30.5 


28.7 


7 


29.5 


30.8 


30.1 


31.6 


30.7 


31.2 


30.2 


29.4 


29.8 


8 


29.2 


31.0 


30.1 


29.8 


30.7 


30.2 


29.7 


30.8 


30.3 


9 


30.5 


31.0 


30.7 


30.3 


31.7 


31.0 


30.1 


31.8 


30.9 


10 


30.0 


31.1 


30.5 


31.1 


31.5 


31.3 


31.2 


31.3 


31.2 


Totals 


28.8 


30.3 


29.6 


30.2 


30.6 


30.5 


30.1 


30.5 


30.3 



RETARDATION IN PHILADELPHIA. 



21 



TABLE XVI. 


ACCELERATION BY 


DISTRIC'IS FOR 1908 


1909 


AND 1910. 




1908 


1909 


1910 




BOYS 


GIRLS 


BOTH 


BOYS 


GIRLS 


BOTH 


BOYS 


GtBL8 


BOTH 


1 


23.9 


26.3 


25.1 


27.0 


27.8 


27.4 


27.3 


28.6 


28.0 


2 


23.6 


24.1 


23.9 


23.5 


25.2 


24.4 


24.3 


25.8 


24.9 


3 


22.7 


25.8 


24.2 


22.8 


26.3 


24.5 


23.9 


25.9 


24.9 


4 


24.0 


23.8 


23.9 


25.7 


26.2 


26.0 


27.2 


28.6 


27.8 


5 
6 








25.5 
29.9 


26.6 
31.0 


26.1 
30.5 


27.9 
33.6 


28.8 
33.3 


28.3 
33.5 


29.5 


29.8 


29.7 


7 


30.0 


33.5 


31.7 


31.6 


35.1 


33.3 


35.1 


37.7 


36.4 


8 


27.8 


31.8 


29.8 


30.1 


32.4 


31.3 


32.2 


34.5 


33.4 


9 


31.2 


33.0 


32.1 


32.2 


33.8 


33.0 


33.7 


35.4 


34.5 


10 


32.0 


37.2 


34.5 


33.0 


37.9 


35.4 


32.6 


38.0 


35.3 


Totals 


27.2 


29.5 


28.4 


28.1 


30.2 


29.2 


29.7 


31.5 


30.6 



As the retardation for the years 1908, 1909 Aid 1910 has 
decreased from 42.4 per cent to 40.3 per cent and then to 38.8 
per cent, we should expect to find an increase in the amount of 
normal progress, but such is not the case. It is true there is a 
slight increase for 1909, but 1910 shows a very slight falling off. 
The acceleration, on the other hand, shows a corresponding regu- 
lar increase for boys as well as girls, averaging 28.4 per cent for 
1908, 29.2 per cent for 1909, and 30.6 per cent for 1910. From 
this it would seem that retardation is being increased as a result of 
supervision, which is pushing up pupils all along the line. This 
has been the true state of affairs, and furthermore, provision has 
been made in the system for the more rapid advancement of 
brighter pupils by means of the so-called "incidental promotion". 
The tendency thus shown to decrease the inflexibility of the cur- 
riculum is an undoubted sign of progress. The relation of 
retarded, normal, and accelerated pupils for the years 1908, 1909 
and 1910, may be graphically represented in the table on page 
116. 

Summary : 

(1) There is a considerable percentage of pupils accelerated, 
as well as of those retarded; 28.1 per cent of the boys are accel- 
erated to 41.7 per cent retarded; 30.2 per cent girls accelerated 
to 39.2 per cent retarded; while 29.2 per cent of all pupils are 
accelerated to 40.3 retarded. 

(2) The percentage of pupils making normal progress ap- 
pears to remain a constant for boys and girls at about 30 per 
cent. 



22 



THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC. 



(3) While retardation has decreased during the past three 
years, the amount of normal progress has remained approximately 
the same, and acceleration has increased. This is to be accounted 
for by the effect of supervision in encouraging promotions all 
along the line. 

TABLE XVII. GRAPHIC REPRESENTATION OP RETARDATION, NORMAL 
PROGRESS AND ACCELERATION. 
Percent. 1908 1909 1910 



42 R 

41 

40 

39 

38 

37 

36 

35 

34 

33 

32 



31 
30 
29 

28 A 

27 



I 

l 

I 

I 

I 

1 

I 

l 

i 






R R= Retardation. 

N N= Normal Progiess. 

A A = Acceleration. 



Relation of Retardation to Number of Pupils per Teacher. 

The overcrowded condition of some Philadelphia schools sug- 
gests that this condition may have an important bearing upon 
the relative amount of retardation in the overcrowded districts. 
For a study of this aspect of the problem there should be available 
the number of pupils in each class in each school, with the promo- 



RETARDATION IN PHILADELPHIA. 23 

tion record of each class. This information not being accessible, 
the following study has been based npon the number of pupils in 
the primary grades (one to four) of each school and the number 
of primary teachers in the same school, and upon the number of 
pupils in the grammar grades (five to eight) with the correspond- 
ing number of grammar teachers in each school. There is an ad- 
vantage in this division, as it is in the primary grades that over- 
crowding chiefly occurs and elimination is at the minimum. 

A study of the separate schools of the districts fails to reveal 
any constant relation between the number of pupils per teacher 
and the percentage of retardation. If the results of the investiga- 
tion of the separate schools are summarized by districts, it is 
seen that Districts 1 and 2 show five pupils per teacher more in 
the primary than in the grammar grades, with 5 per cent greater 
retardation in the latter than in the former. District 3 shows 41.8 
pupils per teacher in the grammar grades to 47.8 in the primary, 
with 49.1 per cent of retardation in the former to 46.4 per cent 
in the latter. District 4 shows 41.0 pupils' per teacher in the 
grammar, to 44.4 in the primary, with 52.4 per cent of retardation 
in the former to 41.2 per cent in the latter. District 5 has 40.9 
pupils per teacher in the grammar to 44.5 in the primary, with 
52.1 per cent of retardation in the former to 41.8 per cent in the 
latter. The greatest divergence between grammar and primary 
retardation, with the least difference in number of pupils per 
teacher in grammar and primary grades is in District 6, with 40.2 
pupils per teacher in the grammar and 43.4 in the primary, with 
a grammar retardation of 45.4 per cent as against 32.6 per cent 
in the primary. District 7 shows 43.6 pupils per teacher in the 
grammar, 44.5 in the primary, with 40.2 per cent of retardation 
in the former and 33.2 per cent in the latter. In District 8 there 
are 42.4 pupils per teacher in the grammar, to 45.5 in the primary, 
with a retardation of 44.3 per cent in the former and 36.5 per 
cent in the latter. District 9 has 42.4 pupils per teacher in the 
grammar and 46.7 in the primary, with a retardation of 43.1 
per cent in the former to 33.9 per cent in the latter. District 10 
has 42.4 pupils per teacher in the grammar to 43.8 in the primary, 
with a retardation of 37.1 per cent in the former to 32.2 per cent 
in the primary. 

Here again there seems to be no relation between district 
retardation and the number of pupils per teacher in the district. 
It appears that the primary grades may have more pupils per 
teacher than the grammar grades, and still do equally if not more 



24 



THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC. 



efficient work as measured by the criterion of retardation. This 
may be due to the higher requirements in the grammar grades. 
The controlling factor, as shown by the study of individual schools, 
seems to be the teacher. A good teacher with a large class will 
get better results than a poor teacher with a small one. 

Elimination. 

If all children remained in school until they had completed 
the course as prescribed for the elementary grades, the comparative 
amount of retardation between cities and the districts of the 
same city would roughly measure the efficiency of the system. At 
the age of fourteen years, working certificates may be obtained, 
and elimination begins. A district with a low percentage of 
retardation may have a high rate of elimination, the rate of retar- 
dation appearing low because of the fact that many pupils drop 
out, who, if they remained, would raise the retardation rate. The 
reverse may also be true, namely, a district with a high rate of 
retardation may have a comparatively low elimination rate. In 
calculating elimination the method employed by Ayres has been 
used. 

In the following table the percentage of elimination has been 
computed for boys, girls and both for the ten districts : 



TABLE XVIII. 

A. RETARDATION VS. ELIMINATION OF THE TEN 
DISTRICTS. 



B. THE SAME ARRANGED 

IN ORDER OF AMOUNT 

OF RETARDATION. 



o 

S 


Boys 


Girls 


Both 




5 


Both 


_o 

03 


a 
_o 

a 

a 

I 


d 
_o 
'-£ 

03 
03 


a 

03 

a 
J 


a 

O 
03 

•n 

03 

-*^ 

CJ 


a 
.2 

03 

a 
| 


a 
_o 

'-3 

03 

-a 

03 
4) 


a 

03 
CI 

| 


l 


41.9 


66.0 


41.7 


56.5 


41.8 


61.2 


3 


47.0 


79.4 


2 


45.9 


74.2 


43.2 


73.4 


44.5 


73.8 




4 


45.1 


57.9 


3 


48.1 


80.2 


45.8 


78.7 


47.0 


79.4 




5 


44.7 


58.0 


4 


46.0 


62.9 


44.4 


53.0 


45.1 


57.9 




2 


44.5 


73.8 


5 


46.1 


56.4 


43.3 


59.6 


44.7 


58.0 




1 


41.8 


61.2 


6 


37.2 


58.8 


37.3 


48.6 


37.2 


53.6 




8 


38.5 


53.8 


7 


36.8 


74.4 


34.2 


69.4 


35.5 


72.0 




6 


37.2 


53.6 


8 


40.1 


56.2 


36.9 


51.5 


38.5 


53.8 




9 


36.0 


64.1 


9 


37.5 


63.2 


34.5 


65.0 


36.0 


64.1 




7 


35.5 


72.0 


10 


35.9 


59.9 


30.6 


56.6 


33.3 


58.3 




10 


33.3 


58.3 


Totals 


41.7 


65.6 


39.2 


61.7 


40.3 


63.3 


Totals 


40.3 


63.3 



RETARDATION IN PHILADELPHIA. 25 

It will be noted that the rate of elimination for girls is less 
than that for boys, being 61.7 per cent for the former with 39.2 
per cent of retardation, and 65.6 per cent for the latter with 41.7 
per cent of retardation. The elimination rate for both is 63.3 
per cent as against 40.3 per cent of retardation. 

In table XVIII B the districts have been arranged accord- 
ing to the amount of retardation with the corresponding elimina- 
tion. District 3 has the highest rate of retardation and also of 
elimination. Districts 4, 5 and 2 vary little in retardation, but 
Districts 4 and 5 have much lower rates of elimination than Dis- 
trict 2. District 1 has a medium retardation rate, and likewise 
a medium elimination. District 8 has a retardation which is 
higher by 2 per cent than that of District 9, but its elimination 
rate is lower by 11 per cent. District 6 has a rather low rate of 
retardation, and the lowest elimination. District 7 with a retar- 
dation of only 35.5 per cent has an elimination of 72.0 per cent. 
This great elimination accounts for a mill district wiw poor social 
conditions having such a low rate of retardation. District 10 
has the lowest retardation rate, 33.3 per cent, and also a low 
elimination rate, 58.3 per cent. District 6 has a retardation of 
37.2 per cent with an elimination of 53.6 per cent. The retarda- 
tion and elimination rates of Districts 6 and 10 taken together 
tend to approximate each other, but the social conditions are very 
different in the two districts. It would seem from what has 
already been said of District 6 that the adverse conditions had, in 
a measure, been overcome by supervision. The elimination is low 
because the retardation is low. It is failure to advance that raises 
the elimination, as may be seen by the dropping out of large 
numbers of pupils after the semi-annual promotions. 

District 7, with a retardation of 35.5 per cent and an elimin- 
ation of 72.0 per cent, seems to contradict the statement just made, 
but it must be remembered that District 7 is a factory district 
where it is customary for the children to go to work as soon as 
they are fourteen years old. It seems that foreign parents are 
more anxious that their children should remain in school, when 
this is possible, if they are making progress. 
Summary : 

(1) The retardation rate is often misleading in making 
comparisons where the elimination rate is not known. 

(2) The less retardation, if we except abnormal conditions 
(large proportions of foreign or negro population, factory districts, 
and in general very low social conditions), the less elimination 
we find. 



26 



THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC. 



(3) Supervision may, by decreasing retardation, also lower 
the elimination rate. 

Retardation by Districts According to the Falkner Method. 
In a recent article by Falkner 1 in The Psychological 
Clinic, the common method of calculating retardation has been 
objected to as being cumbersome and not giving the true amount 
of retardation, because it fails to recognize elimination, which 
begins at fourteen years of age. It is suggested that retardation 
be calculated on a basis of the number of thirteen-year-old pupils 
who have not reached a certain grade, in other words that retar- 
dation be calculated at its maximum. The following table com- 
pares the retardation of the ten districts as calculated by the two 
methods. 

TABLE XIX. RETARDATION BY FALKNER METHOD AND REGULAR METHOD. 



A. IN ORDER OF DISTRICTS. 



B. IN ORDER OF AMOUNT OF 
RETARDATION. 



District 


Falkner 
Method 


Regular 
Method 


1 


69.3 


41.8 


2 


73.2 


44.5 


3 


76.1 


47.0 


4 


68.9 


45.1 


5 


70.3 


44.7 


6 


62.0 


37.2 


7 


67.3 


35 5 


8 


66.8 


38.5 


9 


65.6 


36.0 


10 


57.6 


33.6 



District 


Falkner 
Method 


District 


Regular 
Method 


3 


76.1 


3 


47.0 


2 


73.0 


4 


45.1 


5 


70.3 


5 


44.7 


1 


69.3 


2 


44.5 


4 


68.9 


1 


41.8 


7 


67.3 


8 


38.5 


8 


66.8 


9 


36.0 


9 


65.6 


6 


37.2 


6 


62.0 


7 


35.5 


10 


57.6 


10 


33.3 



It will be noted that the maximum retardation by the Falkner 
method is 76.1 per cent in District 3, as against 47.0 per cent in 
the same district by the regular method, and that the minimum 
is 57.6 per cent in District 10 as against 33.3 per cent in the 
same district. Most of the other districts change order in amount 
of retardation when the Falkner method is used. District 1 is 
one point out ; District 2, two points out ; District 4 is three points 
out ; District 5 remains the same. District 6 is one point out ; 
District 7, three points ; Districts 8 and 9, each one point out. 
The falling of District 4 from second place by the regular method 

1 Falkner, R. P. The Fundamental Expression of Retardation, The Psycho- 
logical Clinic, Vol. IV, No. 8, Jan., 1911, p. 213. 



RETARDATION IN PHILADELPHIA. 27 

to fifth place by the Falkner method is due to the comparatively 
low rate of elimination, 57.9 per cent. District 7 changes from 
ninth place by the regular method to sixth place by the Falkner 
method on account of its high rate of elimination, 72 per cent. 

The Falkner method evidently gives a much truer measure of 
an educational system if the elimination rate is not known, than 
does the regular method. On the other hand, it fails to take into 
consideration the entire number of pupils enrolled. It is valuable 
as a supplementary method to check up results, and will often 
make the retardation statistics clearer and uncover facts that 
otherwise might pass unnoticed. 

Summing up the results of this investigation we note that 
to the pedagogical and psychological factors already recognized 
as contributing to retardation, we must add a third, the sociological 
factor. 

From the psychological point of view, we see the need of 
conditions which will make possible the giving of more attention 
to individual pupils, not only in their school work, but in deciding 
whether it is for the best interests of the pupil to be promoted or 
left down, irrespective of the requirements for the average. 

From the sociological point of view, we see the need of a 
flexible course of study. The enrolment of the schools is made 
up of various sociological units, which with their varying home 
conditions, must be carefully scrutinized before a fixed course 
of study is laid down for all. In the case of the negro, it seems 
that the curriculum at present is entirely unfitted to his capabil- 
ities. Apparently, the solution of this problem is to be found 
only in organizing colored schools with a special curriculum. 

Supervision, we have seen, may reduce the retardation to a 
small extent by making wholesale promotions. This, however, is 
an attempt to remove the effect without eradicating the cause. 
On the other hand, by recognizing the psychological and sociologi- 
cal factors in the problem and making adequate provision for them, 
supervision may reduce the amount of retardation to a minimum. 



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